A LIVERPOOL pub where four teenage boys and a man were slashed and stabbed with a knife will stay closed.

Police shut The Weighing Machine, in Edge Hill, after the violence on Friday night.

But district judge Michael Ableson yesterday granted a longer-term closure order on the pub.

It means the Wavertree Road venue will stay closed until councillors on Liverpool’s licensing committee meet to discuss what happened there.

No date for the meeting was set, but the committee must meet within 10 days of the judge’s order being made.

Police were called on Friday night at around 11pm after a disturbance which was apparently sparked by a row in the pub earlier that night.

A gang of six men were believed to have returned later – some of them armed with knives.

One 15-year-old boy was stabbed repeatedly in the body.

Police also found a 26-year-old man who had been stabbed in the arm and a 16-year-old suffered minor injuries.

The alarm was raised by two 16-year-olds who fled to Wavertree police station after being injured.

All the victims were treated by medics and are now recovering at home.

Detective Chief Inspector Tracy Hayes said: “Due to the serious nature of the attack and the violence used, we are keen to trace any potential witnesses who could lead to the arrest of those responsible.”